Welcome once again to the Tuesday Slot with Irene, today we share with you A Timeshare Warning to Military and Law Enforcement by another retired military veteran Joshua Parker, no relation to our very own Irene Parker, this article continues our series of timeshare whoes revolving around veterans.
Over the past few months Inside Timeshare has been highlighting many stories of retired military and law enforcement vets who have succumbed to the sales patter of highly skilled rogues. Some have seen their entire life savings whisked away and now facing financial ruin, all due to the predatory sales tactics of timeshare sales agents.
Inside Timeshare and all our contributors send out the same warning, beware the sales agents!
Following on from another article by one of our new contributors Meryl Reyman, whose article we published on 17 April, it is with great joy we mention her article is now being published in The Spectrum. Meryl has also made it to USA Today, so Inside Timeshare with your help and contributions is certainly making the headlines and bringing the despicable tactics of the timeshare industry to a wider audience.
Over the past year it has not been just vets that we have highlighted, it is also the elderly who have also been targeted as easy prey. It is not just in the US this is happening, Europe is also seeing the same thing. Inside Timeshare has been receiving many enquiries on how to get out of timeshare and the loan agreements which they have been sold. One of the main culprits in providing these loans is Barclays.
We have in our case books many pensioners who have been coerced into purchasing “investment packs”, all financed by Barclays Partner Finance, arranged by sales agents, even though the purchasers have stated they could not afford it. Yet loans of upto £30,000 have been granted, without even a check on income versus outgoings reports, with only small pensions as their income!
Inside Timeshare will continue to highlight these practices, along with all the rogue resale, claims companies and fake law firms, it is you the readers that provide us with the information to warn others of what is going on, for this we thank you.
Now for Joshua’s article.
A Timeshare Warning to Military and Law Enforcement
A Public Service Announcement
Timeshare foreclosure can result in the loss of Security Clearance
By Joshua Parker, US Army, Ret, OIF
May 1, 2018
Timeshare Advocacy Group
is a group of volunteers advocating on behalf of consumers victimized by predatory timeshare lending, sales and marketing. These tactics have caused several members of the military to fear the loss of their Security Clearance. This poses a threat to our national security in that anyone can get hired to sell timeshare points with the intent to see Security Clearances revoked.
If a military member must foreclose, the chain of command considers that member a security risk. A military member in severe financial distress is vulnerable to acts of desperation and is at a high risk for career termination.
Few timeshare buyers are aware the timeshare contract is perpetual, often unable to be sold and accompanied by rising maintenance fees. The timeshare contract is one-sided. Benefits can be changed or eliminated at any time for any reason.
The most common complaint is deceit and bait and switch. Some examples of what prospective buyers or existing timeshare members have been told:
- It’s easy to refinance an 18% timeshare loan or there are special military offers that do not exist. Banks do not finance timeshares.
- Timeshare points can be easily resold or rented. While Disney Vacation Club maintains some resale value, many timeshares have virtually no resale value. When an owner wants to get out of a timeshare, he or she may go to a timeshare exit company. These services charge money upfront offering to list or sell your timeshare. Members of an organization called Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association (LTRBA) charge nothing upfront to list a timeshare for sale. Check with a member of this organization before paying anyone to sell or get you out of a timeshare.
- Those desperate to get out of a timeshare may pay thousands in upfront money, relying on a “guaranteed exit” only to be told foreclosure is considered a guaranteed exit. It is not necessary to pay anyone to foreclose.
- One pattern of deceit is to sell a package that is family-affordable although it is not the package the family needs. After complaining, the family is told the answer is to buy more timeshare points.
- Deceit occurs when a prospective purchaser is shown a Presidential quality unit that is not available to them based on what they actually purchased.
- Another deceitful practice occurs with the upsell of existing owners. Those members are told that additional points are financially advantageous.If the member pursues a contract rescission, they must prove to layers of corporate employees that, in their case, there has been a deceitful or predatory practice. It is the job of those employees to convince the owner/member that he/she has misremembered how the program works. The owner, by persisting with a gauntlet of letters, interviews, rebuttals, and regulatory and law enforcement filings, may convince the company to accede to their case. If there is a predatory lending loan, the owner can include in his/her arguments a reference to the FBI’s description of White Collar Crime, Mortgage Fraud, and Fraud for Profit.
- Timeshare companies and timeshare sales agents can dodge the state contract rescission period by not allowing access to the booking site, or tell the new timeshare buyer maintenance fee relief programs/ability to sell points will be effective at a later date.
If you or someone you know has a timeshare concern, contact Inside Timeshare http://insidetimeshare.com/. There is never a charge. Those helped are encouraged to make a donation to Whistleblowers of America, an organization seeking justice for active duty military, veterans and government workers. https://whistleblowersofamerica.org/
That’s it for today, Inside Timeshare is closing early as it is May Day (Spain has closed down), or as some call it International Labour Day, personally I call it “Early Happy Hour”. See you all tomorrow.
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